Crowdfunding campaign smartwatch with physical hands raises millions of dollars

A smartwatch with a touchscreen and physical hands above it has raised nearly $3 million on Kickstarter so far. The crowdfunding campaign will last for almost a week, but the goal has long been exceeded.

According to its Kickstarter page, the Swiss company MyKronoz has already received almost three million dollars from more than 15,000 backers for the ZeTime, according to its own Kickstarter page. The most striking change compared to other smartwatches is that there is a hole in the middle of the LCD to allow the mechanical hands to function. The touch-sensitive layer is placed over the hands together with the glass to protect the watch.

By using mechanical hands, users can always read the time, even when the screen is off. For the software, the company uses MyKronoz OS, its own operating system. That is compatible with iOS and Android and should be able to show notifications from many different apps.

In addition, the ZeTime has many features that other smartwatches have, such as a stainless steel housing, optical heart rate monitor on the back and a digital crown for scrolling through the interface on the side. The housing is also water resistant. The first backers paid $139 for the watch. Delivery is to take place in September 2017.